Sunday, November 13, 2011

Celebrating Bhai Dooj with Bengali Fish Recipes

This time Bhai Dooj was very special for me as I happened to celebrate the same with all my cousins in my maternal uncle's house after 17 LONG years ! It was the First Bhai Dooj celebration for my daughter as well !

Of the 5 days I spent óver there, I happened to visit the Fish Market one day . Located very near to Bay of Bengal , I was truly amazed to see so many varieties of sea fish like Seer, Mackrel, Pomfret, salt water shrimp, Rangi Ruli, Baul, Gang morala, Paniasia, Tapda, Rupa patia to fresh water fish like Rohu, Katla, Bhetki, Sole , Pabda, Pangashand many more. ( Could not figure out the english names of majority of the fish, hence used their Bengali names :-)).

Of which the Sun Dried Fish was the most significant.They reminded me of my childhood days when we used to enjoy the Fish fry with Rice soaked in water with a little mashed potato to go along with it. Though it gives out a very pungent odor while frying, but it tastes awesome. All you need to do is to fry them in a little oil :-)

On the eve of Bhai Dooj my aunt, who is a Great Cook prepared some beautiful Prawn Tikkis, Prawn Malaikari (Prawn in coconut milk gravy) and Macher tetul/imli tok (Fish in tamarind sauce). Read more for Recipes....

Prawn Tikkis :This is a very special dish as it is made out of discarded legs and head portion of the prawns. Can use sea prawns or fresh water prawns in this recipe.

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking time : 7 to 8 minutes

Serves : 5

Ingredients :

Discarded legs and head portion of almost 2 lbs. prawn

1 medium sized onion (finely chopped)

2 green chilies (finely chopped )

2 tbsp of besan (gram flour)

Salt, to taste

Oil, as required for pan fry

Procedure :

Wash the prawns thoroughly and cut them. Collect the discarded legs and the head portion of the prawns. Grind them to a fine paste.

Next in a bowl, add 2 tbsp of besan, chopped onion, chopped chilies and salt with the prawn paste. Mix well . Use the gram flour according to the consistency of the prawn paste. The prawn mix should not be too watery or too thick.

Divide the prawn mix into equal portions. Now wash and dry your hands, rub them with a little oil.

Take each portion of the prawn mix and make it into a ball, gently flatten each ball into a round patty of about 2" thickness.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a non stick skillet over low heat. Place the patties ,not too much at a time and pan fry them on each side for 2 to 3 minutes or until they turn golden brown on each side.

Enjoy the prawn tikkis with rice and other curries or serve hot with ketchup and coriander chutney.

Prawn Malaikari ( Prawns in coconut milk gravy):

This is an authentic Bengali Prawn Recipe made of coconut milk.My aunt used onion in this recipe. Can also be prepared without the use of onions.

Preparation time : 15 minutesCooking time : 20 minutesServes 6 to 7

Ingredients :

Sea Prawns ( almost 2 lbs.)

2 cups of coconut milk

1 large potato, diced into 1" cubes

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 medium sized onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp chili powder ( adjust heat according to your taste)

1 tbsp turmeric powder

Salt, as required

Mustard Oil, as required ( can use any oil of your choice)

Water , as required

Coriander leaves and green chilies , to garnish

Procedure:

Wash the prawns thoroughly and cut them. ( Have used the discarded head and the legs portion to make Prawn Tikkis ). To marinate the prawns, use a pinch of turmeric and salt, keep aside for 10 minutes.

In the mean time, pan fry the potatoes. Keep aside. Next pan fry the prawns, keep aside.

In a deep non stick skillet, heat 1 tbsp of mustard oil, add the ginger garlic paste and let cook for a minute or so. Next add the chopped onions and let cook till translucent. Add the turmeric powder , chili powder and cook for another minute or so until the raw smell of the spices vanish.

Next add the potatoes to the spice mix, mix well and let cook for another minute.

Add the coconut milk , salt and lastly the prawns and let cook covered until the potatoes and prawns are fully cooked. Add water as required to maintain the consistency of your choice.

Garnish with Coriander leaves and green chilies and serve hot with Rice.

Macher imli/tetul Tok (Fish in Tamarind Sauce) :

This is one more authentic Bengali recipe surely going to pamper your taste buds. With the addition of a little sugar brings out the flavors even more.

Preparation time : 10 minutes

Cooking time : 15 minutes

Serves : 5 to 6

Ingredients :

1 lb. white fleshed fish ( Have used Rohu in this recipe)

Tamarind pulp taken out of a marble sized tamarind

1 tbsp Black mustard seeds

2 green chiles, slit lengthwise

1 tsp turmeric powder

Sugar, a pinch

Salt, to taste

Oil, as required

Water as required

Procedure :

Clean the fish thoroughly and cut into 2" to 3" pieces.

Keep marinated with a tsp of turmeric powder and salt for 5 minutes.

Next pan fry the fish pieces, keep aside.

In a deep non-stick skillet, heat a tbsp of oil, add the mustard seeds, once it starts to sputter, add the slit green chilies .

Next add water as required, salt and tamarind pulp. Let cook covered for a few minutes or until it comes to a boil. Add the Fish pieces and let cook for another 3 to 4 minutes or until the fish is fully cooked. Add a pinch of sugar before taking out of the heat.

Serve hot with Rice. NM5ZFXAZQZC6

Sending all the Recipes for the event CC-Festive Food organized by Srav's Culinary Concept

22 comments:

Thanks for dropping in my space n for the follow :) loved your blog name :) you have nice collection of sea foods,My mom loves fish n crabs but she doesn't know more recipes n often cook n eat in the same style but now I could share all your yummy recipes to her :) happily following u :-)

Thank you for sharing on what can be done with the shells and legs of prawns and honestly I did not that you can make such a wonderful recipe from it. But I do use them for stocks, esp when making noodles soup.

I also love the other two recipes but the first as stated above caught my eyes so much.

Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving such kind words! My hubby is quite picky, so we rarely eat fish (I just order it when we eat out so I can get my fill :)). But I love visiting other blogs and hearing about others' cultures, foods and traditions...so thanks for leading me here :)

wow, u have got a great collection of fish recipes. I am from coastal Kerala where we couldn't even imagine a day without fish. But now here in US its once in a while.Thanks for following my space and I'm happy to follow you too..

Welcome Back Sonali,Good to know you had such a wonderful time with family and celebrated Bhai Dooj.I am such a huge fan of seafood and am delighted that you shared all these photos of different fish along with the names. ThnX